Separator member for use in packing articles for shipment



L. J. BuDD May 19, 1953 SEPARATOR MEMBER FOR USE IN PACKING ARTICLES FORSHIPMENT Filed Jan. 17, 1949 flue/150;" fan" Edd c0 Patented May 19,1953 .2:

Larry J. Budd, Chicago, IlL, ass'ignor to'Pallet' Devices, 'Inc.,'Melrose Park, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application January 17,1949, Serial No. 71,235

This invention relates to improvements in separator members for use inpacking articles for shipment and it consists of the matters hereinafterdescribed and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Certain articles, because of their outline as well as cross sectionalshape, along with the surface finish thereof, present a difficultproblem in packing for shipment, in a manner wherein the articles areheld to that limit of relative movement as will not damage the same ormar the finish thereof. As an example of such articles, automobileradiator grilles are mentioned, as they generally include rearwardlyextending marginal flanges and a highly polished front surface andgenerally the sides of such a grille splay or turn toward the rear. I

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simplemember adapted to beplaced between the articles being packed to keepthem separated from each other, while holding them against such relativeshucking or shifting as will damage the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a separator member forthis purpose which is so inexpensive to produce as to be expendableafter a single use.

Also, it is an object of the invention to produce a member of this kindwhich is of a flexible character so that it will bend to conform to theshape of the article at least in one direction.

Again, it is an object of the invention to provide a member of this kindwhich may be made from paper board and tubing.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, together with others aswell as the advantages thereof, will more fully appear as thespecification proceeds.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a separator member embodying thepreferred form of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the improved member inuse between a plurality of articles to be packed in a carton forshipment, which articles in this instance are shown as grille guards forautomobile radiators.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a, number of the grilleguards and separators therebetween of Fig. 2 on a scale enlargedthereover.

Fig. 4 is a vertical detail sectional view through a part of the memberappearing in Fig. 1 but on a scale enlarged thereover and moreparticularly illustrates one form of construction whereby the spacingelement of the member is attached to the body of the member.

1 Claim. (Cl. 206-65) In general the improved separating member includesa body of sheet-like material, which is of such length, thickness andmaterial as to be bendable and on one face thereof is secured one end ofat least two spacing elements, each preferably in the form of a shortannulus of a diame ter considerably greater than its axial length ordepth;

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustratedin the drawing and especially to Figs. 1 and 4 thereof, the improvedseparating member includes an elongated rectangular body It of sheetmaterial and spaced equal distances from each end thereof on itslongitudinal median line and projecting outwardly from one face ofthe-body are short annular spacing elements H-l I.

The body In is preferably made from kraft board and the spacingelementsare preferably made of lengths of thickwalled paper tubing of a diameterseveral times the axial length thereof.

To attach each spacing member to the sheetlike body member I0, sets ofportions of said body are punched out on the circles of the innerdiameter of the annular spacing member II and then bent to extendperpendicularly as ears I2|2. These ears are engageable with the insideof said annular spacing member II and are secured thereto either as bymeans of an adhesive or by means of staples I4, as shown in Fig. 4. Thusthe ears are arcuately spaced apart and therefore the attachment forthese members does not appreciably interfere with the bending or bowingof the separator members as a whole within reasonable limits.

The improved separator member is of especial advantage for use betweenadjacent articles such as automobile radiator grilles in packing anumber of such grilles in a container for shipment from the supplier tothe point of insulation in an automobile.

Such a grille, which is indicated as a whole at I5 in Fig. 2, is usuallyof a horizontally elongated shape and bows rearwardly from its midportion toward each side. It usually includes a rearwardly extendingmarginal flange I6 and within the area thereof is generally providedvertically spaced horizontal bars I! which define the openings l8 ateach side of a center bar H! in the grille. The inner faces of thehorizontal and center bars I! and [9 are spaced forwardly of the planeof the rearwardly extending marginal flange Hi.

In packing such grilles for shipment, a group of such grilles aredisposed in a container 20, such as shown in Fig. 2. Such a container is3 as wide as the grilles which are stood upright in the carton with thebottom of the grille resting upon the bottom of the carton. After onegrille is placed in the carton, a separating member is disposed at therear of the grille with the spacing members I I facing toward the rearof the grille. By pressing the mid portion of the body of the memberforwardly toward the grille, said body l bows to conform to and engagewith the contour or curvature of the edge of the marginal flange N5 ofthe grille, at which time the free edges of the spacing elements IIengage with the rear faces of parts of the horizontal bars I! of thegrille. Another grille I5 is then placed within the container with itsfront face, which is usually highly polished, engaged with the rear faceof the body Ill of the separator member now in place. This alternatearrangement of grille and separating member is continued until thecontainer is filled toits capacity.

When thus filled, with grilles and separators, the top margins of theseparators will extend slightly above the top edges of the grilles,after which the open top of the container may be closed in any suitablemanner.

By the use of the separators described, the grilles cannot contact eachother and therefore the highly polished front faces there do not becomenicked or scratched by reason of such engagement. As the elements II areengaged with the rear face of the grille in advance 01' ahead of thesame, they function to stiffen that area or zone of the body I0 to whichthey are attached and therefore reinforce the same and at the same timesolidify the stack of alternately arranged grilles and separator membersmaking up the pack within the container so that said grilles cannotshift or shuck relatively, to cause a damage to the grilles.

The improved separator member is lnexpen app nded claim.

I claim as my invention:

In a package of spaced bowed articles arranged in generally parallelform and each having a peripheral flange projecting laterally from anouter surface of the article, a separator for disposition between thearticles comprising a sheetlike member having attached to one facethereof a plurality of annular spacers in contact with an inner surfaceof an article inside its peripheral flange and said member having itsmarginal portion on said same face in engagement with the flange of thearticle, the other face of the member being in contact with the otherand adjoining article, said member being flexibly formed into a bowedshape corresponding to the bowed shape of the articles and being snuglyand tightly fitted into the space between the bowed articles.

BARRY J BUDD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 4353M Logan Sept. 2, 1890 1,146,515 Potter July 13, 19151,689,637 Mordecai Oct. 30, 1928 1,908,940 Weidel May 16, 1933 1,913,650White June 13, 1933

